Beth McConnell

Beth McConnell joined the staff of the Media and Democracy Coalition in May 2007 and works to link together local, state and national organizations around media reform campaigns and provide strategic back-up support to those efforts. McConnell has 14 years of public interest advocacy experience, most recently as director of the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG) from 2002 through 2007. During her tenure as director of PennPIRG, McConnell led the organization to several victories, including: winning the release of patient safety data from hospitals that can save lives; giving consumers tools to protect their personal information from would-be identity thieves; defeating a plan by the IRS that would have allowed the sale of consumers' tax returns; and expanding health care access to tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians. McConnell began her public interest career in 1993 as a citizen outreach director with the Fund for Public Interest Research, and has extensive experience working with the media, developing strategic campaign plans, training emerging leaders, policy development and analysis, fundraising, crafting effective messages and coalition building.